van Page 111 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

"Fake Ass White Boys:" A Brief History Of MMA Trash Talk In Advance Of UFC 145
After a year of injury-related cancellations, Jon Jones and Rashad Evans will finally fight tonight at UFC 145. The two best light heavies in the world were once teammates but they now hate each other with a passion that comes only from personal betrayal. I know, I know. You hear that whenever a fig...

Baby Ducks: The Forgotten Victims Of The NHL Playoffs
The playoffs photoshop and gif thread at HFBoards is going strong, and Pass It To Bulis has collected some of the best tumblin' Ryan Kesler gifs so far. We're patiently awaiting Nicklas Backstrom cross-checking Boo the Dog, so get on that, anonymous creative internet people....

Report: Dwight Howard Called Magic Owner During A Game To Tell Him He Won't Play For Stan Van Gundy
WKMG in Orlando is reporting that Dwight Howard called up owner Rich DeVos during Friday's game against the Hawks, and told him he won't play as long as Stan Van Gundy is coaching. Howard has already missed six games with a back injury, and Van Gundy has said he's prepared to finish the season and t...

Reports: Ivan Rodriguez To Retire
According to reports, Ivan Rodriguez will retire as a member of the Texas Rangers before Texas plays the Yankees on Monday....

Better Know An Umpire: Larry Vanover
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

The Red Sox Game Ended With A Magical Elastic Strike Zone
With runners on first and second with two outs, and the Rays up one in today's Patriots' Day morning start at Fenway, it came down to Fernando Rodney and Cody Ross. Rodney threw five straight balls outside, except three of them weren't strictly balls, since home plate ump Larry Vanover called them s...

On NHL Suspensions And Eggshell Skulls
Shea Weber shoves Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass: fine, no suspension. Byron Bitz hits Kyle Clifford from behind, sending him into the boards: two-game suspension. Matt Carkner sucker punches Brian Boyle, continuing to hit him after he goes down: one-game suspension. Carl Hagelin elbows Da...

James Jones Flopped, And It Sent Jeff Van Gundy On An Apoplectic Rant
ESPN basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy has gone on rants about flopping before, but today's (sparked by a third-quarter dive by James Jones in the Heat-Knicks matchup) is one for the ages. Play-by-play man Mike Breen tries his hardest to get Van Gundy off the topic, but fails—JVG even runs over t...

Dwight Howard Out With A Herniated Disc, Now Has More Time To Fire Stan Van Gundy
Dwight Howard has been busy this year. In addition to playing basketball, he spent much of the season wrestling with the dilemma over to whom the fatally dysfunctional Orlando Magic should trade him. Howard then reversed course and decided to stay, put on his GM suit and asked the front office to tr...

History Lesson: The Time Matt Millen Punched The Patriots' General Manager In The Head
An occasional feature in which we recall notable incidents that we would've covered the hell out of had we existed at the time....

They Learn The Art Of Trolling At A Young Age In Vancouver
This young Canucks fan just couldn't help but give Kings coach Darryl Sutter a piece of his mind—or, at least, his mouth—during a break in the action of last night's Stanley Cup playoff opening game of the L.A.-Vancouver series. (He's got some good role models for that kind of behavior, after all.)...

5 Important Contracts Set To Expire At ESPN (Or, Why Michelle Beadle Is Probably Done In Bristol)
On Tuesday, we told you that ESPN execs are ready to walk away from Rick Reilly's contract when it expires next year. But what about this year's expiring contracts? Whose time in Bristol might soon be over? We counted at least four ESPN talents—plus Colin Cowherd—whose deals are up this year. Here's...

Someone Should Just Blow Up The Orlando Magic At This Point
In the ongoing Dwight Howard-Stan Van Gundy bitchfest, there is only one true solution: just get rid of everyone. Trade Howard. Fire Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith. Then sell the team. Until then Orlando will have a superstar who does not want to be there being coached by a coach who does...

Bo Van Pelt Tied The Masters Sunday Round Record Of 64 Thanks To This Hole-In-One
Bo Van Pelt came from nowhere in posting a 64 in today's round at Augusta, tying the best-ever score on a Sunday at the Masters and falling a stroke shy of the all-time single-round record. He did it with the help of this ace on the 16th. ...

Stan Van Gundy Sets Up Dwight Howard For The Most Awkward Interview Ever
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Stan Van Gundy has heard, from "people in our management right from the top," that Dwight Howard has requested that he be fired. The video above picks up Van Gundy's comments just as he utters them. At the 2:50 mark, Van Gundy is approached by Howard, who is not ...

Brendan Haywood Says NBA Players Are "Fake Tough Guys"
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Haywood says he never punched Dwight Howard....

Bristolmetrics: Tiger Woods Rules The <em>SportsCenter</em> Leaderboard
This is a regular feature breaking down, minute-by-minute, the content that appears on ESPN's 11 p.m. edition of SportsCenter throughout the week. Graphic by Jim Cooke....

Police Raid Home Of Man Who Claims He Was Carl Pavano's Lover
A high school classmate of Twins pitcher Carl Pavano is under investigation for allegedly demanding money from Pavano's family in exchange for not going public with his story—that he and Pavano supposedly had a three-year "emotional and physical" relationship two decades ago. Christian Bedard, of So...

Impartial Observer Donovan McNabb Worries That Mike Shanahan Will Ruin Robert Griffin III
RG3? Decent QB. Everyone thinks he'll be great. The Redskins got some people for him to throw to, too....

Canucks To Vancouver: Please Don't Riot
Sorry, I didn't think we had enough Vancouver stuff on the site today. The Canucks have released a video titled "This Is Our Home," featuring players urging Vancouverites to not act like morons as the playoffs arrive, i.e. please don't smash the windows of Blenz. "Celebrate responsibly," fans are ...